A New Life
by GhostWriterGirl-1
Summary: In which, after getting into a near-fatal encounter with a ghost that is DECIDEDLY not like any ghost that has picked a fight with her, Dani gets arrested, almost put into prison, and then adopted by a woman who becomes the mother she never had, and gets a second brother in the process
1. Chapter 1

**I'M BACK! WITH A NEW DANNY PHANTOM CROSSOVER!**

**So, a while ago, I finished binge-watching ****all three parts of Trollhunters(the. Most. Awesome DreamWorks show **_**ever**_**, just after Dragons: Race To The Edge, even though the last few episodes of Part Three sent me on an emotional roller coaster), along with all two parts of 3Below, and I decided to cross the former with **_**another **_**show that I love, which is, of course, Danny Phantom! However, Danny **_**won't **_**be in this aside from mentions. **_**Another **_**Phantom is...**

**Oh and this is set **_**before **_**Jim found the amulet!**

**Anyway, I don't own Danny Phantom, that belongs to Butch Hartman, and I don't own Trollhunters, that belongs to Guillermo Del Toro, Dreamworks and Netflix.**

**Please read and review!**

**GhostWriterGirl out!**

**Chapter One**

In the sleepy town of Arcadia Oaks, it was around midnight. And in it's only hospital, someone was raiding it's medical supplies cabinet.

The person was in fact a twelve-year-old girl. She had beads of sweat forming on her face, black bangs hanging in front of her blue eyes as her small hands rifled through the cabinet, not caring about the mess she was making.

"Come on, come on," she muttered, before she found the object of her desires; a roll of medical gauze, some medical thread and a needle.

"Yes!" the girl exclaimed in triumph, before nearly screaming as the pain from her injuries shot through her small body like needles.

Gripping the remains of her blood-stained blue hoodie, the girl winced, gritting her teeth as she bear the tremors of pain from the injuries she had received from her _last _fight.

The injuries that had required her to steal from the hospital, which sent pangs of guilt stabbing in her heart.

"It's okay. You need these things. It's not like you're stealing some life-saving technology," the girl told herself as she left the room the cabinet was in, but she still felt guilty.

As she headed to where she had come in, she looked around warily. Although thanks to her, uh, _tampering_, the cameras were temporarily off, but that didn't mean that while she had been pilfering medical supplies for her injuries that they hadn't come back on thanks to some backup power. Thankfully, it didn't seem to be the case.

_Maybe I'll get lucky and I'll get a clean break? _the girl thought hopefully.

Of course, fate—or her mentor, she never knew with the old stopwatch—decided to make her hopes come crashing down.

Because, as she was nearing the main entrance, a voice shouted, "Hey! What are you doing here?"

The girl's eyes widened in fear and panic. And, despite her wounds, she did the only thing that she could in the situation that she had found herself in countless times—she ran.

Her injuries screamed, and she screamed too, but from behind gritted teeth. The medical gauze trailed behind her, like a white ribbon. She could hear the security guard gaining on her; the sounds of his shoes and yells of her to stop were all she heard besides the slap of her sneakers on sterilised tiles and her panting, short breaths. Her shirt and hoodie clung to the still-sticky edges of her wounds, sending bolts of pain through her as she ran. But she couldn't stop; if she did, the security guard would catch her. At best, she could give him the slip if she managed to distract him. At worse, he will bring her in for questioning, and then they would find her backpack filled with stolen things that she taken so that she could survive. And then what? She knew she could easily escape jail, but she didn't want to be a fugitive.

No. It was better to run, and hope to not get caught.

The raven-haired girl ran faster and faster down unfamiliar halls, the security guard hot on her heels, desperately trying to find an exit. Her eyes raked over the walls, searching for a door or window. As she did, she made a sharp turn around an upcoming corner and ran down the corridor, hoping that would make her lose the guard. After all, she couldn't keep this up for long. Her lungs were begging for air as her breaths became shorter, her legs were starting to feel like rubber, and the pain from her still-unattended wounds was white-hot. Unless she changed, the guard would catch up to her, and possibly arrest her for stealing from a hospital. But she just hoped she had lost him.

Looking back, a big smile of relief came to her lips at not seeing the guard in sight.

She had given him the slip.

_Yes! _she cheered, and that relief increased tenfold when she saw a door with the sign "Exit" up ahead. _Double yes!_

Without thinking twice, the girl opened the door and barrelled out of it, finding herself out in an alley. Not that she cared; she was just grateful to be outside.

Looking back to just be sure, the girl smiled as she jogged away from the hospital door, hoping to get to where she had stowed her backpack at where the town met the woods and attend to her injuries.

But, if she had focused more, she would have realised that the guard had taken out his walkie talkie and had called for backup, that he had stopped after she had turned that corner... and that she was now heading straight into that backup.

But she didn't realise any of that... until she bumped straight into someone.

The force caused her to stumble back a bit, the unexpected movement causing the pain to make her more dizzy and for stars to burst in her eyes. Mumbling a quick, "Sorry," the girl was about to go, until the person she bumped into asked, "What are you doing with that stuff, Miss?"

She was confused, at first... until she remembered that she was still holding the gauze, the thread and the needle, which had miraculously not embedded itself into her skin during her run. And then she saw the badge on the guy's shirt, and the police car behind him, red and blue lights shining in the night.

The girl's eyes widened as the man looked at her warily and lifted the walkie talkie to his mouth.

"Jeffery, I found the perp. She's right here in front of me. I'm going to take her in for questioning. Over."

There was static, and then someone, possibly Jeffery, who was also possibly the same security guard she had tried to shake off back in the hospital, responded back, but she didn't hear; her mind had become panicked and her body was pumping with adrenaline. All she could think was that this was bad. _Really _bad. She needed to make a break for it, and possibly use her powers to do so.

But before she could do anything, unrelenting, fiery pain flooded through her body, causing her to scream and drop to the ground.

She could hear the policeman run towards her, heard his gasp as he saw her injuries as much as he could since her rags of a shirt and hoodie was covering most of the full extent. His voice, muffled by the pain making her ears ring, said into the walkie talkie, "This is Detective Scott! I'm with the perp, and she is badly injured! She looks like she is about to go into shock and she needs to get medical treatment, stat!" There was static, and someone, their voice too faint for her to hear, responded. Through the tears that were blinding her, she saw the man, who she now knew was called Detective Scott, kneel beside her. He looked to be hesitating, and she immediately knew why: the person who had responded to his call had probably asked him to check the full extent of her wounds. Through the pain, somehow, she managed to grit out, "Just get it over with," before succumbing to more pain-filled screaming.

With reluctance, Detective Scott peeled back the rags of her clothes, not much so that too much of her skin was bare but enough to see exactly how long, wide and deep the wounds were, and how bad they were. By his efforts of trying not to gag, they were bad.

"Oh boy... oh geez..." Detective Scott said, apparently appalled by her injuries, before saying into the walkie, "Just looked at her injuries, and they're bad. I'm taking her to the hospital; it's just a walk away from where I am. Yeah, I know, but she needs serious medical attention. If she doesn't, she'll _die_. Yes, I'll take precautions; I'm not stupid. Okay. Over."

There was more static, and then Detective Scott said something to her, but she didn't hear; she was slipping farther and farther into unconsciousness, thanks to the pain. By the time that she felt her small body leave the ground, she had fully blacked out.

When she had started to come to, she couldn't see much of anything; it was all too blurry, and the shapes and colours of wherever she was bled into each other. She heard faint voices, and saw the vague shapes of people hovering over her. She felt coarse fabric, and cool metal around her left wrist. With bleary eyes, she looked at a person, who looked vaguely like a woman, wearing teal clothes and had red hair. She looked at that woman, until something cold entered her system, and blissful darkness beckoned her, the aches of pain from her injuries starting to return with a vengeance.

With barely any fight left in her, Danielle let the darkness take her, the image of the redheaded woman wearing teal clothes the last thing in her memory before she was floating in complete, wonderful blackness.

**Yes, it's Dani!**

**So, for those who are wondering, I am fully intending for Dani to be in Trollhunters. But, until I get to the series, I'm giving you this little introductory fanfic, just to make things less confusing.**

**I hope you enjoyed this!**

**Please read and review!**

**GhostWriterGirl out!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, I'm back! And with a new chapter!**

**Now, fair warning, this is going to be short, with just a few chapters. After all, it's an introductory fic. The fanfic where Dani is incorporated in the series will come, I promise! And I hope you enjoy this!**

**Please read and review!**

**GhostWriterGirl out!**

**Chapter Two**

When Dani managed to wake up, she panicked as she didn't recognise where she was.

"AAHHH! Where am I?! What's going on?!" Dani panicked, breaths coming out in short bursts as her eyes frantically looked around. She tried to get away, but felt a sharp, metallic coldness around her left wrist, jerking her back.

"Wha—" she started, looking at her left hand... and seeing a handcuff on it attaching her to what looked to be a hospital bed.

Looking around her, she noticed that she wasn't wearing her normal clothes, but instead one of those standard-issued hospital gowns and that she was lying on a hospital bed.

_Why am I here?_ Dani thought in confusion.

"Ah, good. You're awake," a woman's voice said. Dani turned and saw a redheaded woman wearing glasses, teal scrubs and a doctor's coat with kind blue eyes standing near the bed, a smile on her lips.

Dani looked at her and said back, "Guess I am."

The woman nodded before moving on.

"I'm Doctor Barbara Lake, but you can call me Doctor Lake. And you are?" the woman, Doctor Lake, introduced herself, before asking Dani.

"Danielle, but you can call me Dani. With an 'I'," Dani introduced, a bit of shyness in her tone.

There was a beat of silence, and then Doctor Lake asked, "So... those scratches on your back. How did you get them?"

_Oh, I got them while fighting a hulking ghost wearing armour and with fangs, horns and claws_, Dani thought, but answered with a ready lie: "I got them from running from a bear."

Doctor Lake quirked a brow, obviously suspicious of her lie, but ignored it as she looked over the papers warranting Dani's arrest for breaking into the hospital to steal those medical supplies, before looking at the paper detailing Dani's injuries and said, "Well, Dani, you were lucky that Detective Scott took you to the hospital just in time. These wounds were pretty deep, but not much so that it exposes bone or has severed nerves and tendons. But, you still needed to get stitches. For all three gashes. But, I can tell you now, these will scar."

Dani nodded; she had a feeling that even with her accelerated healing factor, that these would scar. That ghost... it was _nothing _like she had seen, or fought, before. It was likely that these wounds would affect her healing factor.

But...

"How many stitches each did I need?" Dani inquired.

"Considering the width, length and how deep that your injuries were, you needed about twelve each," Doctor Lake answered.

Dani nodded, biting her lip. _At least it wasn't worse._

"C-can I see them?" Dani asked.

Doctor Lake considered it, and then nodded. Grabbing a mirror, she handed it to Dani. Dani, after taking it, gingerly pulled down the collar of her hospital gown and angled the mirror so that she could see the stitches.

They weren't so bad. They were clearly done by professional, steady hands, and obviously when she had been knocked out by some sort of sedative. She had seen worse.

"They don't look too bad. They look kinda cool," Dani commented, a smile on her lips.

Doctor Lake chuckled.

"That's the first time I heard someone say that stitches are cool."

"I reckon," Dani agreed, making Doctor Lake laugh and Dani smile wider. But then, that smile turned serious as she asked, "When do these stitches get taken out?"

"A month or so."

Dani nodded. She then noticed the other papers and guessed what they were.

"When do they take me in for questioning?"

Doctor Lake was hesitant to answer, but she did.

"A week after your stitches get taken out."

Dani nodded, a sad look on her face. Nearly four months after Danny had stabilised her, nearly four months of her living on her own and escaping from the authorities and now here she was, handcuffed to a hospital bed, destined to an inevitable questioning by Detective Scott for her breaking into the hospital, even though it was obvious. How could she have been so careless?

_Then again, you never had to fight a ghost like that before, Dani._

Sighing, she looked at her doctor and said, "Okay then. Since it's obvious that I'm not going anywhere, I might as well get cosy."

Doctor Lake shook her head. "I am amazed that you can be so snarky at a time like this, Dani."

"Call it a means of coping, Doctor Lake."

"Well then, it means you're coping immensely well."

Dani smiled. "I can tell that you're going to be my favourite doctor, Doctor Lake."

"And _I _can tell that I'm your _only _doctor, Dani."

"You assume correct, Doctor Lake. But still, I can tell that you're going to be my favourite."

Doctor Lake smiled, and Dani smiled back, before Doctor Lake cleared her throat and said seriously, "Well, it looks like you're recovering well. But still, I suggest you rest, and drink plenty of fluids. You lost a lot of blood last night."

Dani nodded(she had done a lot of nodding), before leaning back into the coarse pillows and closing her eyes halfway. Through her half-closed lids, Dani saw Doctor Lake leave through the curtain separating her room from the rest of the hospital, before allowing herself to drift off to sleep, feeling happy that she was going to asleep in a, although not technically real, actual bed instead of some leaves and a sleeping bag for the first time in four months.

With that thought, the injured twelve-year-old girl smiled happily and snuggled deeper into bed, careful not to pull her stitches out, falling into a dreamless sleep.

**Yes, Barbara is Dani's doctor. What does this mean later? You'll find that out soon...**

**Also, I'm not a doctor, so I winged it with the explanation of Dani's wounds, the stitches and how long until they're taken out. So don't take my word for it here.**

**Anyway, any guesses exactly what type of ghost Dani fought was? And no, it isn't Bular.**

**Please read and review!**

**GhostWriterGirl out!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's the next chapter! I hope you all enjoy it!**

**Also, there'll be some Barbara and Dani bonding, even though it is, so far, a strictly doctor-patient relationship. However, that might not be so in the far future...**

**Please read and review!**

**GhostWriterGirl out!**

**Chapter Three**

For the past month where Dani recovered from her injuries healing, resting and worrying about what might happen the week after she got her stitches out, where she had to inevitably go in for questioning by the police, Doctor Lake had come to tell her about her progress, which she was happy about, but she worried for the eventual moment where Doctor Lake would take blood tests and find out about her being half-ghost. It was terrifying, to say the least.

Despite that, even though Doctor Lake was her doctor and she was the patient, they had, when Doctor Lake was telling Dani about how her injuries were healing, actually bonded a bit. They had talked, joked, and laughed. Doctor Lake had even informed her two weeks after she had gotten her stitches that Dani would be able to wear normal clothes, making the raven-haired girl very happy. She was allowed to keep her shorts and beanie, which had been in safe-keeping, but her hoodie and usual shirt were in ruins thanks to her injuries, much to Dani's dismay. However, Doctor Lake had actually surprised her when, after she had told her that she could wear normal clothes, had bought the blue-eyed girl a new shirt and hoodie. The shirt was white, and had the image of a shooting star on it, and the hoodie was just a shade darker than her original one, but Dani was happy with them. And as soon as she could, she got out of her bed and headed straight to the nearest bathroom, changing into her old shorts and new shirt, as it was too hot for her to wear her hoodie, before clambering into bed, sending a grateful smile to Doctor Lake, who had smiled back. And after she left, Dani had been very tempted to burn the ugly hospital gown with a ghost ray, but refrained from doing so because it would look suspicious, and revelled in the fact that she was wearing normal clothes, sending a multitude of thank you's to Doctor Lake.

A week after that, Doctor Lake told Dani about her son, Jim, and Dani in turn told Doctor Lake about her cousin, careful not to reveal too much. But, Doctor Lake could tell that she was keeping back information, and asked her, prying a bit, until Dani admitted that ever since her cousin helped her, her father had used her and had tried to kill her, with her not knowing what had happened to her mother(actually, she had no biological parents, as she was Danny's clone, but she was not going to tell Doctor Lake that, unless she'd be sent to the madhouse).

Doctor Lake had looked at her with sympathy as she finished, "And ever since then, I have been living on my own, on the street and occasionally in the woods and warehouses and abandoned buildings. My cousin's parents have no idea that I exist, and... and I don't want to burden his parents with them caring for a girl that they had no idea existed. Nor him. It's not the ideal life, but... it's the only life I can live. An-and taking food and clothes isn't the right thing, but it's the only way that I can survive."

Doctor Lake, expression sympathetic, suddenly hugged her, surprising the raven-haired girl.

"I'm so sorry to hear that, kiddo," Doctor Lake said. "No one, especially a child as young as you, should live that life."

Dani, who was still shocked by her doctor hugging her, managed to say, "It's the only life I _can _live, Doctor Lake."

Doctor Lake pulled back and said with a soft smile, "Please, Dani, call me Barbara."

"Okay then... Barbara," Dani said back, a smile on her face, hugging her back.

They stayed in that hug, until Barbara noticed that it was dark outside.

"It's getting late. I better get back home. See you tomorrow, Dani," Barbara farewelled, standing up. Before she had left, she added, "By the way, your stitches should be able to come out next week."

"That's good to know."

Barbara waved goodbye to her. "Good night, Dani."

"Good night, Barbara," Dani farewelled, snuggling into her bed, drifting into sleep as Barbara left, although she was worried about her being questioned by the police in a week.

A day before Dani's stitches were scheduled to come out, Barbara showed Dani pictures of her and Jim. Dani, knowing that she didn't have any family pictures since she was Danny's clone and technically didn't exist, liked looking at them, enjoying looking at the snapshots of a happy family life. Except, she didn't see a certain person in any of them...

"What happened to Jim's father?" Dani asked.

At the question, Barbara's face tightened, and sadness and anger entered her eyes. At seeing, that, Dani guessed immediately what had happened... and it wasn't that he was dead.

"Oh. Sorry, I don't mean to be rude, or to pry," Dani apologised, mentally kicking herself over her question, even if it had been asked in innocent curiosity.

"It's okay, Dani," Barbara replied. "After all, your father was worse."

"Definitely," Dani muttered. "But, I understand. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine."

Barbara nodded, before she said, in an attempt to change the subject, "You know, Dani, I told Jim about you. And, he wants to meet you, someday."

Dani smiled; she kinda wanted to meet Jim too.

"Well, maybe if I avoid arrest and the hospital doesn't press charges on me," Dani commented, nodding to her handcuffed hand.

"Maybe," Barbara agreed. There was a silence, until Barbara had to leave, as someone else in the hospital needed her. Dani, although knowing Barbara didn't need to watch her every single day, felt a bit upset though, as she felt closer to Barbara than before at the start of the month, like... like she was a mo...

_No_. She couldn't think that. Especially, when given the chance, she would escape from the police, and leave Arcadia Oaks.

Forever.

Too bad that her plan didn't go, well, according to plan.

...

"Okay, Dani, you ready?"

Dani nodded.

"As ready as I'll ever be," was her response.

It was the day that her stitches would be taken out, and Dani was feeling nervous. Clenching her fists, Dani winced as the needle filled with the painkilling sedative plunged into her arm. She felt her eyelids grow heavy and her limbs become numb. The beeping of the machines and the murmured voices of the doctors became muffled as the sedative took effect.

As the stitches were taken out, Dani had to bite her tongue to keep from screaming. True, the painkiller was working, but it made the pain a constant throbbing, obviously thanks to her half-ghost status. However, she quickly found herself drifting off, her eyes looking to the clock and making out the numbers:

12:00 PM.

Huh. Taking the stitches out had taken three hours; she was sure it had been 9:00 AM when it first started.

But before she could think about this further, she had already fallen asleep, thanks to the combination of the painkiller, and the slight pain itself.

...

It was a week after her stitches had been taken out, and during that time, Dani couldn't stop looking at her new scars with a mirror. The jagged, pale pink lines ran vertically across her back, taking up nearly every inch of skin on her back. They were pretty cool, but she didn't want everyone to see them and question how she got them. Who knows how many people would suspect that she hadn't gotten these from a bear attack?

Good thing she was leaving as soon as she got the chance.

She was just about to do that—she could just phase through the handcuff and turn invisible so that she could sneak out—when she heard people talking outside and Barbara saying, "Officer, please, you can't just—"

Dani tensed, preparing to use her ghost powers, as Detective Scott entered her room, Barbara behind him.

"Doctor Lake? What's going on?" Dani asked, although she knew why.

Instead of Barbara answering, Detective Scott walked up to her and said, "Danielle, you're under arrest for breaking and entering and attempted theft. I'll be taking you in for questioning now."

Dani, although knowing that this would have happened, felt numb. She barely registered the cold metal of the handcuffs around her slender wrists and Detective Scott yanking the twelve-year-old halfa girl out of the bed and dragging her out of the room, Barbara's shouts of protest muffled, Dani noticing how doctors and nurses looked at what was happening, but didn't intervene. Something that Dani was both grateful for and upset by. It was a contradiction.

Soon, all too soon, Dani found herself outside of the hospital and being lead towards Detective Scott's police car, Barbara still protesting. Dani still felt numb, but it had faded that she could register what was happening, and could hear Barbara's protests.

"Officer, please! She's just a _child!_ And she was _injured_! She took that stuff so that she could treat those wounds of hers!"

"I know that. But what if it had been a farce? What if she had intended to hurt innocent people, people who are too sick and injured to leave? I'm just trying to keep this town safe."

Dani knew that she should quickly phase out of these cuffs, turn invisible, and bolt out of here while Detective Scott and Barbara were distracted. But she couldn't; for some reason, she didn't _want _to go, even though she had every reason to go and disappear, like she usually did. But as she pondered this, Dani soon realised the reason; it was really simple. It was not because she felt she deserved to be questioned for her breaking into the hospital and trying to steal that stuff, but that was a part of it. No, it was because that over the course of her recovery from her injuries, she and Barbara had bonded, in a way that had been similar to her relationship with Holo-Maddie, back when she had considered Vlad her "father", before he had betrayed her.

So, when she managed to find her voice, as Detective Scott opened the door and was about to shove her into the car, she said one word, one word that was filled with the fear and nervousness she was feeling about being questioned by the police, that was who Barbara had become to her during that month, more than her doctor, for she had become like her...

"Mom!"

Barbara stood there, frozen, as Detective Scott gently shoved her into the car and slammed it close, before he too got into the car as well. As he drove away back to the station, the last thing Dani saw was Barbara looking at her, a shocked look on her face from when Dani had called her "Mom".

**Sad ending, I know. But, this story will have a happy ending. I promise!**

**So, we get to see some Dani and Barbara bonding! And yes, at the end, Dani considers Barbara to be the mother that she never had. But does this mean Barbara considers Dani to be like her daughter? You'll have to find out, especially what will happen now that Dani will be going in for questioning for breaking into the hospital and trying to steal from it.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**Please read and review!**

**GhostWriterGirl out!**


	4. Chapter 4

**And here is the next chapter! Also, just so you all know... WE'RE ALMOST FINISHED WITH THIS STORY!**

**Yeah, you heard me right! We're almost finished! Only a couple more chapters and then, ****we'll be getting into the good stuff...*grins expectantly***

**Anywho, there'll be some more Barbara and Dani bonding stuff, along with what happens next after Dani's arrest and her calling Barbara "Mom". I hope you like it!**

**Please read and review!**

**GhostWriterGirl out!**

**Chapter Four**

Danielle paced around in her temporary cell, worried about what the verdict would be. She had just been questioned by Detective Scott, and although she had tried to answer as truthfully as possible, she couldn't answer questions like her date of birth or about her parents, lest they grow suspicious of her or risk revealing hers and Danny's secret. Dani had noticed that Detective Scott had looked very ticked off when she didn't answer those specific questions, but after her questioning had ended, he had put her in a temporary cell, telling her to wait until he had come to a decision, which made Dani very worried. After all, despite her good reasons, she _had _broken into a hospital and had nearly stolen medical supplies, and could have hurt innocent people from getting out of there. She wouldn't be surprised if this was taken to court.

She just hoped that it wouldn't go there.

With her enhanced hearing, Dani heard someone approaching, and stopped her pacing, choosing to sit on the uncomfortable bed in the cell as the door opened, revealing that Detective Scott had come back.

Dani watched as the policeman walked up to her, expression neutral. Dani schooled her own features to be like that, while her body tensed, in case she needed to use her powers to make a break for it.

"So, Detective... what's the verdict?" Dani asked, tone expressionless.

Detective Scott looked over the papers that he had brought with him, before he looked at her and answered her question.

"Well, you would be heading to court, as breaking and entering and theft are very serious crimes. But, since nothing was _actually _stolen, as it was returned, and the hospital decided not to press charges, that won't happen. I account it on the fact that there was no security footage during the time that you broke into the hospital, and you ended up being a registered patient, even though you _did _try to steal that gauze, thread and needle."

Although Dani had smirked internally at how there was no security footage—a little trick that she had picked up on the streets—she was nervous at what this would mean for her, now that she knew she wasn't going to court and the hospital hadn't pressed any charges against her.

_Does this mean..._

"A-and where does that leave me?" Dani asked. "What happens to me now? Am I—"

But before she could ask any more questions, Detective Scott interrupted her.

"Well, since you refused to tell us if you had any family, and since we can't let you go on the streets, we _would _send you to the nearest juvie or orphanage or register you into the foster system, but surprisingly, the person who bailed you out also offered to let you stay with them."

Despite feeling immense relief that she wasn't going to an orphanage or registered into the system, or worse juvie, Dani was confused about one aspect of Detective Scott's answer. And that was...

"Who bailed me out, Detective?"

Before he could even open his mouth, a familiar female voice answered for him.

"I did, Dani."

Dani swore that her jaw was hitting the floor as she saw Barbara step out from behind the detective, a smile on her face, though Dani couldn't determine why. But she wasn't focused on Barbara's strange smile; the dark-haired girl was more focused on the fact that _Barbara _had bailed her out. And also _offered _that Dani could _stay _with her.

It was confusing for the blue-eyed twelve-year-old.

She barely heard whatever else Barbara or Detective Scott were talking about, nor the click as the key for her cell opened it, hardly feeling a warm, steady head holding her slightly rougher one and leading her out of the cell, towards the main part of the police station. She was directed towards a seat, and fidgeted, the hard plastic uncomfortable as she tried to wrap her mind around that Barbara had not only bailed her out, but also offered that she could stay with her, still feeling confused and a little bit shocked.

But also hopeful.

Dani knew hope wasn't a feeling that you should feel on the streets, where hope could sometimes land you in hot water. After all, her hope that Vlad would stabilise her had been turned to dust when he basically shouted at her that she only existed for her to only be his faithful little minion, and that he wouldn't care if she melted into ectoplasm right in front of his eyes, highlighted very much so when he almost _killed _her before Danny stabilised her. But, she felt hope now, that maybe, _maybe_, during the month where she had recovered from her injuries as they scarred, where she felt that she and Barbara, despite the older woman being her doctor and she was the patient, had bonded, where she had actually thought of Barbara as a _mother_, where she had called her Mom when she had been formally arrested, that Barbara thought the same.

That maybe, like how Dani considered her to be a mother figure, Barbara might, _might_, consider her to be like a daughter.

Of course, Dani wasn't sure, and she could be completely wrong. But still, it was good to feel hope for it.

After what felt like centuries had passed, and Dani was considering just using her powers to leave then and there and disappear off the map, Barbara came out of Detective Scott's office and walked up to her, offering her a hand.

"C'mon, kiddo," Barbara said, looking tired, but still smiling. "Let's head home."

Dani wanted to protest that she _had _no home, that she couldn't come with Barbara, that she couldn't have a home with her and her son, Jim, that she couldn't have a home _anywhere_, as she didn't belong anywhere, that she was better off living on her own, on the streets, in abandoned warehouses when she could and the occasional national park, travelling the world, by herself, but the words wouldn't leave her, sticking in her throat.

So instead, she nodded and took Barbara's hand, walking beside the older woman as she lead them to her car parked outside. Dani let go so that she could open the right-side door at the back, clambering inside to sit on the backseat while Barbara sat in the driver's seat. She started the car and soon, they were driving to Barbara's home.

For most of the drive, there was silence save for the car's radio playing. At first, Dani was content with the silence, until she couldn't take it anymore, and decided to ask Barbara her most burning question:

"Why did you, after you bailed me out, offer that I could stay with you?"

Silence descended.

When it got too much, Dani continued.

"I mean, I get, somewhat, why you would bail me out. It was because you were my doctor, and... never mind. But why offer for me to stay with you? I mean, sure, we did bond, and I did tell you a bit about my past, but I'm still a complete stranger, to both you, and Jim.

"So why did you offer that I could stay with you?"

Silence again, hanging in the air heavily. Barbara struggled with the words, before taking in a deep breath and asked her, "Dani, do you remember when you were getting arrested, that you called me Mom?"

Dani's eyes widened, before she blushed a deep red in embarrassment and sunk lower in the seat, refraining from the urge to turn invisible.

"Yes, I do. And, I'm sorry if I offended you, or embarrassed you. It just kinda blurted out."

"I gathered. And I'll have to admit, I _was _a bit embarrassed. And, also shocked. I mean, it's not every day that your patient is not only being arrested for breaking in and almost stealing from the very hospital she was registered in, but also called you Mom."

Now Dani was sure she was doing an honest-to-goodness fantastic impression of a tomato, with how much she was blushing from embarrassment.

"But," Barbara continued, "I have to admit, even though you were my patient, it was kinda sweet that you consider me to be your mother figure, despite that I was your doctor. And I decided that not only would I bail you out, but I would let you stay with me. For how long, I don't know, and... Yeah."

Dani was quiet, before she smiled widely and happily, Barbara smiling too.

Soon, they had arrived at Barbara's home. Parking the car on the driveway, Barbara turned the ignition off and got out, Dani following behind her, but before she could get two steps, she felt two small arms wrap around her and let out a surprised, "Oof!", before looking down to see Dani hugging her tightly, still smiling as tears of happiness came to her eyes.

"Thank you," Dani whispered.

Surprise now over, Barbara smiled motherly at the dark-haired girl and hugged Dani back. The moment lasted for nearly a minute until the front door opened a boy's voice called out, "Mom? You're back?"

Barbara looked up and noticed Jim standing on the doorstep. Dani, also noticing the dark-haired boy who was obviously Barbara's son, pulled back, blushing lightly in embarrassment.

"Yeah, I'm back, kiddo," Barbara replied, smiling up at her son, who noticed the suddenly-shy Dani trying, and failing, to make herself unnoticeable, her bangs falling in front of her face.

"Is this Danielle? The girl who you were talking about a couple weeks ago?" Jim inquired.

Barbara nodded. "Yes, this is Danielle."

Jim looked at the blue-eyed girl, who waved at him with a little shyness.

"Uh... hi."

Jim waved back, and smiled slightly. "Hi."

Jim then stepped down the porch steps and ran to his mother, hugging her tightly around the waist, Barbara returning the hug. Dani looked away from it, feeling it was a bit private.

When the two ended the hug, Jim turned to face her, and Dani found herself being once again completely shy and uncomfortable.

"Uhhh... you don't mind that I'm staying here, right?" she asked nervously. "I mean, you barely know me, after all. In fact, I could go now, if you—"

"Dani, I don't mind," Jim cut in, making the raven-haired girl pause. "True, I am wary and nervous, since I hardly know you. But, Mom told me about you, and you seem pretty cool. Despite that you got arrested."

Dani quirked a smile at the compliment.

"Dani, both me _and _Jim made the decision together that you could stay here," Barbara said, looking at the twelve-year-old girl in question. "And, I understand you may have reservations about this, since you lived on your own for a long time. But maybe... maybe you might consider this like a home, someday."

Dani was silent for a moment, before she smiled widely, tears of happiness glimmering in her eyes.

"Thank you, Barbara," Dani thanked again.

Barbara smiled warmly. "It's okay."

That lasted a few seconds until Dani asked, "So... where am I sleeping?"

That caused Jim to widen his eyes, as Barbara chuckled and answered, "Don't worry Dani, you're not sleeping on the couch. You're going to be sleeping in the guest room. That okay with you?"

At hearing that, and the prospect of a warm bed, Dani smiled.

"Absolutely."

With that, Dani's stay with the Lake family had begun.

**Cruddy at the end, I know. I had writer's block at the end there, and I apologise if any character is acting OOC.**

**Anywho, this had more Barbara and Dani bonding moments, with Barbara thinking it's sweet that Dani considers her to be a mother figure to her, despite her initial shock when hearing Dani calling her "Mom".**

**Also, Barbara bailed out Dani, and Dani is now staying with the Lake family! What does this mean in the future for Dani, well... you'll have to see in the next chapter...**

**Please read and review!**

**GhostWriterGirl out!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here it is. The last chapter of this story! I hope you like it.**

**This will have more Barbara and Dani mother-daughter bonding stuff and even a little Jim and Dani brother-sister bonding stuff, which will lead onto what is going to happen at near the end of this chapter...**

**Please read and review!**

**GhostWriterGirl out!**

**Chapter Five**

It had now been almost a month after Dani had her stitches taken out, got arrested for breaking into the hospital and attempted theft, and had been bailed out by Barbara and staying at her place, and during that time, she had gotten to know Barbara and Jim better, and vice versa. She quickly learned that Jim was the master in the kitchen, and that Barbara's cooking should be treated with the same caution as the cooking of the matriarch of the Fenton family, Maddie(just without the mutations from ectoplasm being added, though). She found Jim's cooking amazing after having her first dinner with the Lakes, and had proclaimed in a terrible British accent that Jim's cooking is superb and "to die for", making Barbara chuckle and Jim blush a bright beet-red and Dani smiling as well.

Jim's wonderful cooking aside, Dani actually found her weekdays pretty boring, as she didn't want to go to school(yet). Some days, Barbara managed to take the day off, and the two would get into Barbara's car and they would head off to the mall or a cafe and have some little bonding time. Dani cherished those days, and remembered fondly when she had chosen a _lot _of clothes(hey, even though she's a tomboy, she's _still _a girl), or when they had gone for ice cream that one time, and when Barbara had taken her to the movies to see the new Pixar movie _Brave_(Best. Pixar. Movie. Ever in Dani's opinion; Merida reminded Dani _so _much of Sam and Valerie that she started missing the two kick-butt ghost huntresses of Team Phantom, if Valerie had become a part of Team Phantom at this point in time). But, during the days that Barbara couldn't take a day off, Dani found herself incredibly bored. Sure, she was at first thrilled that she would be by herself most of the day, but that had quickly worn off. She had tried to entertain herself, key word _tried, _but wound up once again being bored. Nowadays Dani just retreated to the basement to practice her ghost powers, so that she didn't get rusty, or kept in contact with Danny via email(after he had stabilised her, Danny had given her his email address, partly so that they could keep in contact and partly because if Dani started destabilising again, then Danny would know from her via email)to liven up her otherwise dull days.

So yeah, pretty boring weekdays usually.

However, the week_ends _were a different story.

All through Saturday and Sunday, Dani and Jim would either watch TV or movies, play video games or spend some time outside, playing hide and seek(whenever she was hiding, Dani would sometimes go invisible just to mess with Jim) and mock-wrestling and occasionally climbing the trees that were behind the backyard. Sometimes the two would come back with minor cuts and twigs and leaves in their hair, but with smiles and breathlessly laughing. And it was during the weekends that Dani met Jim's best friend, Tobias "Toby" Domzalski.

Their first meeting was actually pretty comical, now that she looked back on it. She had a gaming marathon with Jim the previous night, and because of it, she had fallen asleep on the couch. When Toby had come over to the Lake residence, both him and Jim noticed her sleeping form on the couch, and when Toby, after a quick Rock Paper Scissors with Jim, gone to wake her up, Dani had woken up of her own accord and had head-butted Toby, causing the brunette boy to let out a surprised yelp and fall down. It had been embarrassing, and okay pretty funny, but that was how hers and Toby's first meeting went.

Despite that head-butt, Dani and Toby had become pretty good friends, with Dani, Toby and Jim hanging out nearly every single weekend together, playing games and just having fun together. Toby was very curious about Dani, and sometimes asked her questions about her past. However, during one time that the three of them hung out, Toby had asked her if he could see her infamous scars, with her pulling the collar of her shirt at the back down a little, exposing a bit of the three jagged lines that ran diagonally down her back.

Toby had stared at what he could see of her scars in awe, asking her several questions like how much it had hurt when she first received them, how awesome sauce how scars looked, and how long it had taken for the original wounds to scar, which Dani had answered with relative ease, until Toby asked, "Dani, was it _actually _a bear that gave you these?"

That had caused Dani to panic briefly, before she answered, "I'm sure, Tobes. Then again, it _was _pretty dark when the bear attacked. I just saw a huge, hulking shape and assumed that it was a bear."

Toby and Jim looked at each other unsurely, and Dani had a feeling that they had a suspicion she was lying. But, much to Dani's relief, it was never brought up again.

Despite that, the three had become close friends, and as thick as thieves. Dani enjoyed hanging out with Toby; he was a pretty cool guy, despite their first meeting.

Overall, Dani loved staying with Barbara and Jim. Barbara had definitely become more of a motherly figure to her, with it being emphasised when during her second night here, Dani had woken up screaming from a nightmare where Vlad had melted her and Danny wasn't able to help her, Barbara had come into her room and had comforted her as she sobbed from the sheer terror of the nightmare and the memory of her near-death, just holding her comfortingly as she managed to fall asleep again, and the time when on a Saturday when just Jim and Toby were hanging out they had been trying, and failing, to bake some chocolate chip brownies, they had engaged in a batter-flicking competition, the two of them laughing and almost covered entirely in brownie mixture in the end. Dani was grateful that Barbara was a mother figure for her, especially since before she met Barbara, the only motherly influence she had was Holo-Maddie, and that was _very _creepy.

And Jim?

Well... Jim had become something of a brother to her. Their relationship had turned to a sibling-like relationship over the month, with Dani nicknaming Jim "Jimmy" and Jim in turn nicknaming her "Ellie". Sometimes, Dani would sneak out of her room and come into Jim's if he was awake, where they would sometimes talk about stuff like their average day(Dani leaving out that her average day included her training her ghost powers)and sometimes messing around by talking to Toby via walkie-talkie and even sneaking into the kitchen where they got some midnight snacks. However, she remembered one night where their conversation had lead to the subject of their fathers. She had been lying on the floor in her star-patterned pyjamas that Barbara had bought for her during one of their first shopping trips, raven hair out of its ponytail, a stick of liquorice in her hand, and had asked Jim what his father was like before he walked out on him and his mom.

Jim's jaw had tightened at the mention of his dad before he had answered, "He was... not a jerk. He loved my mom, and me. He was in the military. I had actually looked up to him, and when I was five, dreamed about building a Vespa with him. On my fifth birthday, he had bought me a Vespa kit... and then walked out right afterwards, not looking back. It broke my mom's heart. So, yeah. That was my dad before he became a jerk and walked out."

Dani nodded, chewing on a bite of liquorice, before Jim asked her, "What was _your _dad like, Dani? Before, you know, he tried to kill you?"

At hearing the mention of her "father", Dani's ice-blue eyes had looked at the ground with a black glare as she had gripped the stick of liquorice tightly before she'd answered, "To be honest, I thought he was the greatest dad ever. I never knew my mom, so my dad was all I had. I wanted to please him, and loved him with everything that I had. He-he told me I was the greatest thing that had ever happened to him... until he had basically shouted at me that I was nothing but a mistake, a failure, a tool to be used until he eventually threw it away. His faithful little minion. It stung, what he said. The betrayal really cut me deep, and after I helped my cousin, who showed me that my father was just using me, I ran away. But then, he found me again, and yeah. He tried to kill me. If it weren't for my cousin, I wouldn't be here. And, that's that."

Jim, who had listened to her answer with wide, shocked eyes, said, "Wow. Your dad sounds, without a doubt, worse than my dad."

"Definitely," Dani had agreed, while she was thinking, _Understatement._

"Well," Jim had said semi-jokingly, "here's to us, the kids with the deadbeat dads."

"Here here," Dani replied, also semi-jokingly, causing them both to chuckle despite the serious mood only seconds ago.

It was those moments that Dani felt like Jim was a brother to her, like how Barbara was a mother to her, and it broke her heart when she, eventually, would have to go to an orphanage or into foster care. But, she still cherished those moments, even though she felt terrible about keeping the secret that she was half-ghost from them, and Toby.

And speaking of ghosts...

Two weeks after everything that had happened, Dani had woken up to her ghost sense going off and an annoying, familiar voice yelling, "I AM THE BOX GHOST! BEWARE!"

With a groan, Dani had just grabbed her Fenton Thermos that Danny had given her before she left and was in her bag(she had gone back immediately the first night she was here and was thankful it was still where she had left it, bringing it back home)and sucked the Box Ghost in without any challenge from the annoying ghost.

But that had just been the start.

Within the week that Boxy had come, low-level ghosts like blobs, animal ghosts, ecto-pusses, and yes the Box Ghost, had started appearing, obviously wanting to pick a fight with the cousin of Danny Phantom. Dani, of course, fought them off and sucked them up in her Fenton Thermos, though she was annoyed as it mostly happened at night and it interrupted her sleep. But, she was happy that they weren't Danny's more powerful enemies. She had to start small, right?

Thankfully, no one noticed the ghosts that came looking to fight her, which Dani was grateful for. She _definitely _didn't need any attention towards her ghost fights.

Barbara and Jim, however, had noticed her tired expression, and when they asked, Dani lied that she had stayed up playing video games. Barbara had looked at her with a stern expression, but she and Jim had bought it. For now, though. She would have to ask Danny if she could borrow some of his more-effective excuses and lies next time she emailed him.

Aside from the ghost fights, it had been a great half-month, something that Dani was sure she'd be eternally grateful for. Although she was worried about what laid in store for her in the future, Dani chose to ignore it for the time being and focus on the present, and spending as much time that she could with three people she had grown to care for and actually _trust_, as hard as that was for her to believe.

But that future was determined to remind Dani, no matter how much she was content with the present.

...

"Look, I understand, okay? I know, I know. Just... keep looking, okay? I mean, she couldn't have appeared out of thin air! There must be _some _record of her. Yeah, I understand. Okay, bye."

Barbara hung up the phone, letting out a sigh as she pinched the bridge of her nose... and heard something.

Barbara whirled around to the counter, where she had head the noise. But nothing was there.

"Hello?" she asked.

No response.

After a few more seconds, Barbara chalked it up to her just hearing things and resumed to what she had been previously doing before she made the call, missing the small, slight shadow of a little girl as it darted up the stairs and into the guest room. Once inside, Dani immediately resumed visibility, panting as she kicked herself for accidentally letting slip a gasp and almost getting caught. But before she could mentally berate herself, her enhanced hearing picked up the sound of the door opening. Dani, thinking that Barbara was behind the door, dove into the rumpled nest of sheets and blanket and pillow that was a bed just as the door fully opened... and a mop of dark, messy hair and familiar blue eyes came into view.

Dani sighed out in relief and gave Jim a smile as she said, "Thought a second there that you were your mom, Jim."

Thanks to her night vision, Dani could see Jim smile slightly as he rolled his eyes, and she chuckled lightly, before she whispered, "But maybe we should be a little bit more quiet, just in case."

Jim nodded. He walked over to her and asked, "What was tonight's call about, Dani?"

You see, for the past two weeks, Barbara had been making calls to an unknown person, usually when she thought Jim and Dani were asleep. Of course, the two found out a couple days after the first call, where Dani had accidentally overheard Barbara making the second call. She would have brushed it off... except that the subject of the call had been about _her_. And, Dani suspected it was about finding an orphanage for her.

She had told Jim, and the two decided to eavesdrop on Barbara's mystery calls, Dani turning invisible when it was her turn. They hadn't gotten much, but both were worried that it meant Dani was going to be sent to an orphanage soon.

And yet, Dani hoped that it wasn't that.

At Jim's question, the raven-haired girl sat up and answered, "Your mother was asking whoever was on the other end to look for some files, which might be files for me. Aside from that, it was pretty boring."

She looked at him, worry in her eyes, and asked, "Do you think that... that your mom is finding an orphanage for me to stay in?"

Jim's face was unreadable, but his voice held a tremor of worry as he answered, "I don't know. But, it might not be that. I just..."

Jim let out a sigh, at loss for words. It was okay, though.

But now...

"Uh, Jim, maybe we should, um, go to sleep," Dani suggested, before she yawned. A quite huge yawn as well.

Jim, who also yawned, replied, "Good idea."

He then head back to the door, but before he left, Jim looked back and whispered, "Good night, Ellie."

Dani, smiling at the nickname, whispered back, "Good night, Jimmy."

With a smile of his own at Dani's nickname for him, Jim opened the door quietly and left, heading to his bedroom.

With another great yawn, Dani laid back down and snuggled underneath her sheets, closing her eyes and ready to lose herself in dreamland... until her ghost sense went off.

Groaning, Dani sat up and was about to reach for her thermos when she caught sight of the ghost that set off her ghost sense... and smiled.

"Clockwork!" Dani exclaimed, happy to see the Master of Time that was hers, and Danny's, mentor.

Clockwork smiled back, also happy to see the raven-haired girl. "Hello, Danielle. It's good to see you."

"Likewise," Dani said back, her smile still on... before it slipped as fear entered her mind. "Clockwork, not that I mind, but... why are you here? Is-is _he _coming after me?"

"No, Danielle; Vlad Plasmius isn't coming after you," Clockwork answered, causing the young halfa to release a relieved breath. "I am here to tell you something."

And now the relief was replaced by wariness.

"Okay. What is it that you want to tell me?" Dani asked the Ghost of Time.

"When the time comes, and you learn why Barbara Lake made those calls, don't be confused over how it happened. Me and Ghostwriter have it covered."

Dani, although feeling confused, nodded and smiled. "Thanks, Clockwork."

Clockwork smiled back, before he used his staff to make a clock-hand portal and teleported back to his clock tower in the Ghost Zone, leaving Dani to puzzle over what her mentor had said to her.

_What does he mean, he and Ghost Writer have it covered? _Dani wondered. She knew who Ghost Writer was; when she had gone into the Ghost Zone one time through a natural portal she had stumbled upon his library home, and after seeing all of his books, decided to read some. When Ghost Writer had come back, he was stunned at seeing her read his books, but had allowed her after she had said they were very interesting. She would occasionally borrow some of his books, but would return them as soon as she was finished. So, she was confused over how he and Clockwork had whatever Clockwork told her vaguely "covered".

_Guess I'll find out when it happens, _Dani thought.

Once again, she snuggled under her sheets, and managed to drift off into a dreamless sleep.

...

It was now a week later.

Ever since her conversation with Clockwork, Dani had decided that it was best not to eavesdrop on the phone calls Barbara made any longer, since they were private. She had told Jim that(while leaving out her conversation with the Ghost of Time), and he had agreed, knowing that Barbara would tell them what her phone calls are about, eventually.

And all throughout that week, Barbara had been... happier. She still made those mystery calls, but she sounded more happy than before. Both Jim and Dani had noticed, but they didn't ask, waiting for Barbara to tell them.

And, during that week later, she did.

When Dani woke up the Sunday week after Clockwork had visited, she smelled something delicious. _Very _delicious.

Mouth salivating, Dani hurriedly got out of bed and ran out of her room and down the stairs, where she saw that on the dining table were three plates, each having a couple slices of toast, some bacon, and scrambled eggs on it, with Barbara and Jim, who must have been the one who made that mouth-drooling breakfast, already sitting there.

"Man, that smells good," Dani said, almost running to the dining table and sitting down, looking hungrily at her plate, before she ate a piece of scrambled eggs and nearly moaned in pleasure. "And it tastes just as good. Seriously, Jim, you could become a professional chef."

Jim's cheeks turned red from the compliment as he and Barbara also ate their breakfast as well.

There were a couple of minutes of silence before Barbara broke it by saying, "Jim, Dani, I have something to tell you two."

That caused both twelve-year-olds to pause what they were doing, Dani worried that she knew what this was about.

"For the last three weeks, I've been making calls to someone. About Dani," Barbara started.

Dani mentally prepped herself for what Barbara was going to say next: That the calls had been made to someone from an orphanage, and that someone was going to take her in.

However, what Barbara said next took Dani _completely _by surprise.

"And that someone... was from an adoption centre," Barbara continued, confusing both Dani and Jim. The redheaded woman then looked at Dani and said the words that would change Dani's life forever:

"I asked her if I could adopt you, Dani. And, after a while, she said I could."

Dani was shocked, she was sure she was doing the greatest impression of a gaping fish.

"B-but, how... why-I mean... how?" Dani spluttered. After all, she was Danny's _clone_. Technically, she didn't _exist_.

So how was Barbara able to adopt her, if she had no files that proved she existed in the first place?

"Well, it wasn't easy. The woman I talked to said that she couldn't find any files of you. For a while, it was like you had appeared out of thin air. And then, those files appeared a week ago."

"A week ago..." Dani murmured, feeling confused. And then she remembered what Clockwork had told her.

"_When the time comes, and you learn why Barbara Lake made those calls, don't be confused. Me and Ghost Writer have it covered."_

Now Dani was smiling on the inside.

One of Ghost Writer's powers was that he could, with help from his keyboard, forge any documents... or create new ones.

Like files for her.

_Thank you, Clockwork!_

Dani smiled, a great huge smile, as Jim, who was also smiling, asked, "How long, until..."

"Until Dani becomes a member of our family?" Barbara finished, smiling as well. "I just finished the last of the paperwork this morning. It's getting legalised right now. In a couple of hours, it will be official."

Barbara then turned to look at Dani. "Dani—"

Whatever she was about to say next was cut off, as Dani had gotten out of her seat and walked over to Barbara to hug her tightly, tears of joy brimming in her eyes.

"Thank you... Mom," the dark-haired girl whispered.

Barbara, touched at hearing her soon-to-be adopted daughter calling her "Mom", smiled at her and hugged her back.

The moment lasted for a couple of seconds until Dani pulled away and looked at Jim, smiling. "So... that means I'm going to be your adoptive sister soon."

Jim nodded, also smiling. "Yep."

"Wanna tell Toby?"

"Sure."

With matching grins, the soon-to-be siblings almost ran out of the house, heading to Toby's across the street, while Barbara watched them leave, a happy smile on her face.

She had a feeling that this was going to be one of the best days of Dani's life.

...

After they had told Toby the news of Dani being adopted by Barbara, the three kids decided to celebrate by having a gaming marathon, Dani feeling the happiest she had been. In fact, this was the greatest day of her life, aside from Danny managing to stabilise her. She was over the moon that Barbara was going to be her new mom soon, and that Jim was going to be her new brother. It was a great feeling, one that Dani hoped would stay with her forever.

When Dani and Jim had come back home, it was almost dark, and Barbara had told them that Dani's adoption had finally been legalised, making her a legal, and permanent, member of the Lake family. She had even baked a cake to celebrate(which tasted, surprisingly, alright, if a little dry).

Afterwards, both Dani and Jim had gotten themselves ready for bed, but before she went to sleep, Dani emailed Danny telling him about Barbara adopting her, with Danny responding back how he was happy for her, and that she had a family now.

_A family_.

Dani smiled. Yes, she did have a family now. One she had grown to love very much.

And as she drifted off to sleep, with no ghosts to ruin it, a smile was on her face.

Danielle "Dani" Lake.

She liked the sound of it.

**And Dani has now been adopted by Barbara!**

**I know, I said that this is the last chapter, and it is, but I think an epilogue is in order, don't you? Just to see what happens after she had been adopted, I mean.**

**Not a lot of bonding, but there'll be heaps in the epilogue. I promise!**

**Please read and review!**

**GhostWriterGirl out!**


	6. Epilogue

**And here it is! The epilogue! And then, we get into the really **_**good **_**stuff...*grins***

**I hope you like this, and the little family bonding in it!**

**Please read and review!**

**GhostWriterGirl out!**

**Epilogue**

It was a month after Barbara had adopted Dani, and the twelve-year-old halfa couldn't have been happier.

If there was _one _thing Dani was grateful for when she had still been living with Vlad, was that he at _least _understood the importance of education and taught her the basics, with Dani thinking bitterly that an uneducated clone as strong as her, despite her former instability, was a liability to his plans. Still, when her new adoptive mother had told her she had enrolled her into school, Dani felt really nervous, but also excited. And, she couldn't quell her excitement when she and Barbara(it was Monday, so Jim had to go to school) had gone shopping for school supplies for her the day after the Sunday where Barbara had told Dani and Jim that she had adopted Dani. It had been a fun day, with Dani having gotten a new backpack, new notebooks, new pencils and pens and Textas and an eraser and a pencil sharpener and highlighters and a new pencil case to hold everything in and a new computer, which had surprised the dark-haired girl immensely. But, she was thankful none the less.

The next day, Dani had gotten herself ready for school, with her wearing a beanie, a white shirt, the blue hoodie that her adoptive mother had bought for her when Dani was still in hospital, her red shorts and blue and white sneakers, her hair in its classic ponytail. After getting herself ready, Dani had gone downstairs and ate a bowl of cereal in a rush, before she left the house and going into the alley next down to transform into ghost mode and fly invisibly to her new school, Arcadia Oaks Elementary.

There, she met up with Jim and Toby, and gone to her first classes of the day. Some of it was pretty boring, some of it interesting, some of it okay. And when lunch came rolling around, Dani's ghost sense had gone off, leading her to tell Jim and Toby she had to go to the bathroom before she practically bolted out of there and into the girls' bathroom, where she changed into Dani Phantom and left to encounter the ghost, which was an ecto-puss causing trouble in an empty classroom that Dani defeated with ease, and with a few minutes to spare so that she could actually eat her lunch!

After all that, Dani, Jim, Toby and the rest of the student body had to return to class, before the home bell rang, where Dani and Jim were picked up by Barbara.

That was how Dani's new routine for the week went, with on Saturday she, Jim and Barbara personalised Dani's bedroom(which had been the guest room), and after they had finished it looked pretty amazing.

The walls were a light blue with dove grey trimming, the ceiling a matching colour. The original flooring furniture had stayed, but the closet was filled with the clothes Barbara had bought for Dani a while ago, the drawers also similarly filled. There were posters of Dumpty Humpty and an all-female band called Papa Skull, of constellations and the solar system, and of some pictures she had taken during her travels that had been printed out from the phone she had swiped ages ago(none that showed her ghost form, though). The bed itself remained the same, though it had a new bedspread befitting of a preteen girl, and there was a desk for her computer and school work on the left side of the room. There were even glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling.

She loved it.

It had been a great month, aside from the occasional ghost fights.

And a bully.

When Dani first encountered Steve Palchuk, the blonde boy had been bullying another kid named Eli Pepperjack. Feeling angry at seeing that, Dani had marched over to them and shouted, "Hey! Leave him alone!"

That had caught Steve's attention and he'd turned to her and asked, "And why?"

"Because, what did he ever do to you? And also, you have no right to push kids around like that!" Dani yelled.

"So what?" Steve asked. "Not like you can do anything, though." And then he went back to shoving Eli into a locker.

Dani was fuming, basically seeing red, and before she knew it, she had punched Steve right in the nose.

Of course, it lead her to get detention for a week and for her adoptive mom to ground her for that same week, but it was all worth it for stopping Steve bully Eli, with the latter boy sending her grateful looks whenever he passed by her, and it gave her satisfaction to see Steve's broken nose.

_But_, aside from all that, it had been a great month.

And now, Dani was getting excited for something else:

Jim's birthday.

Dani had first learned it when she saw Barbara hiding a cookbook in her closet a couple days ago, and her adoptive mother had told her it was a birthday present for Jim, whose birthday was a week away from now. Feeling rushed for time, Dani decided to get Jim something he'd been looking at for a while... a new issue of _Motor Protocol _magazine, along with a cookbook as well(hey, there wasn't much time!). She knew Jim didn't like his birthday, but she hoped he liked her present.

And speaking of birthdays...

It was that subject of birthdays that was brought up at dinner, only a few days until Jim's birthday, that Barbara asked Dani, "Hey, Dani... when's your birthday?"

That caused Dani to frown and answer honestly, "I... actually don't know, to be honest. My father never wanted me to know when my birthday was; he only told me how old I was when I did something well. I think that he may have burned my birth certificate, so that I'll never know. Why'd you ask?"

Barbara, who had looked shocked at hearing that, said, "I asked just to check something."

"Check what?" Dani inquired, feeling confused.

"Well, as it turns out, Dani, your father _didn't _burn your birth certificate. And... it says that your birthday is on the same day as Jim's."

Dani and Jim nearly spat out the food they were eating.

"What?!"

Barbara shrugged.

"Hey, I was just surprised as you both are when I saw the date. But, it isn't unlikely; plenty of people around the world have the same birthday."

_That's true, _Dani thought. _But still, how come I have a birth certificate? It's not like I have an actual birth—_

Then Dani remembered that her mentor, and Ghost Writer, were responsible for her other files so that Barbara could adopt her. It wasn't unlikely that they hadn't made her a birth certificate as well, and that they made her "birthday" on the same day as Jim's.

_Thanks again, Clockwork._

Dani, however, was pulled out of her thoughts when Jim asked, "So... does this mean that there'll be double the birthday cake?"

That caused both Barbara and Dani to laugh a bit, Jim joining in as well, before turning back to dinner, conversation over.

Dani was looking forward to her birthday.

...

It was a few days after.

Dani was sound asleep, after spending two hours of chasing down and then catching the Box Ghost, after she had a previous hour where she had to fight, and eventually catch, a ghost wolf, when a familiar voice exclaimed, "Good morning, birthday girl!"

That caused Dani's eyes to snap open, briefly flashing green, and her to jerk upright as she let out a yelp of surprise, nearly falling out of bed.

When her mind caught up to her body, making her fully awake, Dani saw that her adoptive mother had been the cause of her waking up, a big smile on her face and holding a tray with what looked to be a stack of pancakes on it. Behind her was Jim, who looked more awake than Dani was.

"Uhh... good morning guys," Dani mumbled, rubbing her eyes, before she looked at the tray of pancakes. "Are those...pancakes?"

"Yep. Mom's special birthday pancakes!" Barbara answered, smiling, as she held the tray out to the raven-haired girl, which showed three questionably-cooked pancakes, with the top one having what looked to be a smiley face, only that...

"The top one looks like he's in pain," Dani observed, slightly wincing from last night's injuries, courtesy of the ghost wolf she had fought.

"Well, he's smiling on the inside," her adoptive mother replied, before she placed the tray on Dani's bedside table. "Well, eat up! I've got a special present for both you, and Jim!"

With that, Barbara left the room, leaving Jim and Dani the only ones in it.

Dani, taking the tray of pancakes, began cutting into the first one... only to be met with resistance.

"Uhh..."

"Don't worry; same thing happened with mine," Jim assured, as he sat down on the other end of Dani's bed. "It's probably best _not _to try and eat it."

"Probably," Dani agreed, setting the tray of inedible pancakes back on her bedside table; she knew that her adoptive mother's cooking was best left uneaten.

"So," Dani started, leaning forwards slightly, "what do you think Mom got us?"

Jim shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe something cool? You?"

"Same."

After a few minutes of contemplating, Dani said, "Hey Jim... before we go downstairs to see what Mom got for us, let me give you my present."

At that, she leant over the side of her bed and grabbed the wrapped-up magazine and cookbook, before straightening up and handing them to Jim. "Happy birthday, Jim."

Jim, unwrapping his present, gaped slightly at seeing his present before he grinned.

"Wow! This is... this is _awesome_, Dani!" Jim exclaimed, before he hugged his adopted sister. "Thanks!"

Dani smiled and hugged Jim back. "No problem, bro. I just hoped that you didn't find it terrible."

"You kidding? I've been looking for this issue for _days_! And this cookbook... it looks amazing! This is a _great _present! Again, thanks!"

Dani blushed a bit, smiling. "You're welcome."

Pulling back from the hug, Dani stretched a bit before getting out of bed and said, "Well, maybe we should see what Mom got us downstairs."

"Good idea."

With that, the two now-thirteen-year-olds almost ran out of the room and down the stairs, where they saw Barbara standing in the living room, two wrapped presents behind her, a smile on her face.

"Happy birthday, kiddos!" Barbara exclaimed, before stepping aside. "I hope you like your presents."

With that, Dani and Jim ran towards their respective presents, grabbing them and unwrapping them. Jim gasped at seeing his present being another cookbook, and Dani's eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets when she saw her present was an astronomy book.

"Wow, this is great! Thanks Mom!" Dani thanked, smiling gratefully.

"Same here. Thanks," Jim thanked too, also smiling gratefully.

Barbara chuckled and said, "I try my best."

After a few seconds of silence, Barbara asked, "Who wants some birthday cake?"

...

It was a few hours later.

Toby had come over to give both Dani and Jim(who had informed him of Dani's birthday being on the same day as Jim's)their presents. They had played some birthday games, had cake(store-bought, but nonetheless delicious)before Toby had to go back home and Dani and Jim got themselves ready for bed.

Dani was sitting in her bed, reading the astronomy book her adoptive mother had got for her, when she heard Jim say, "Today was great."

Bookmarking her page and putting the book down, Dani looked at Jim as she nodded and replied, "Definitely. Today was one of the best days ever. And, that was a great present that you got me."

Jim smiled, blushing slightly. He had gotten Dani a shirt that said "**I'm A Space Nerd, And It's Cool**", which she was determined to wear tomorrow. It was pretty cool, and the blue-eyed girl had thanked Jim a hundred times over for it.

Dani, still looking at Jim, added, "I hope that, maybe, despite that you don't like your birthdays because of You-Know-Who, that our future birthdays are as great as this one."

"Hopefully."

With that said, Jim said, "Good night, Dani," before leaving.

Dani smiled and said back, "Good night, Jim," before placing her book on her bedside table and snuggling underneath her covers... before her ghost sense went off.

Dani groaned, but changed into her ghost form, grabbed her Fenton Thermos, and phased out of her room, flying towards where the ghost was, hoping to catch it and go back home to get some sleep.

As was her life now. A life that Dani wouldn't change for the world.

A life that, in three years' time, would drastically change when a certain magical amulet would call for her brother, giving him a destiny, and an adventure that neither of them could have predicted.

...

In his citadel, Clockwork observed such events through his time screens, and future events, a smile on his face.

"Everything is the way it's supposed to be."

**And NOW we're finished!**

**You can all guess where this leads on, don't you?**

**I hope you enjoyed it, and I do apologise if any of the characters are out of character. I try to keep them as in-character as much as I can. But, I hope you enjoyed this!**

**Please read and review!**

**GhostWriterGirl out!**


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